Filmmaker Jono Smit and pro surfer Elliot Paerata-Reid team up for a Catlins strike mission only to have the rug pulled out from under them as the weather bomb flushes up the Tasman at the last minute. In an opportunistic stroke of madness they give chase along the West Coast...

Chasing waves on Enderby Island starts with getting to know the locals. They’re furry and blanket the place like lolling beach bums of the south. A little respect (and a lot of patience) will go a long way in this remote part of the Southern Ocean perched on the western...

Finding new waves on planet earth these days is a pretty tough ask. Sure the odd slab might be unearthed here and there, but the goalposts are well out on any significant discoveries. Especially here in New Zealand. So when I was given the chance to join an expedition voyage...

A classic film that follows the unscripted adventures of Jono Smit as he explores our southern coastline during the winter of 2015. “The idea behind all of this was to document winter through my eyes,” explains Jono Smit. “The road trips, the cold weather, the people.” “There are no pro...

The South Seas Revised Edition features the work of some of the best photographers in New Zealand. These are combined with short pithy stories that offer a glimpse into our favourite beaches, surf history and characters of New Zealand’s surf culture. The South Seas Revised Edition came out of the...

From discussions with artistic souls, cross-stepping wave sliders, neck-tattooed lip-launchers and salty old sea dogs there’s something for everyone in NZ Surf: The Collection Vol.1. Drawing from a range of historical and recent material, and from a variety of contributors, this volume directed by Warren Hawke, is an open-hearted sweep...

In a sheltered bay off the end of the Kaikoura Peninsula columns of bubbles spill out of the sea floor like shimmering mercury and make their way to the surface. It’s a dazzling display, like a scene that belongs in Wonderland. This is Hope Springs, aptly named, and just one...

Christchurch surfer and filmmaker Jono Smit gathers up a talented Dunedin crew including JC Susan, Jonas Tawharu and John Courian for a strike mission in the deep south. As autumn played its end game for 2018 the team paddled into some wild, cold waves. But they were wide open. Sit...

The forecast promised 5m at 13 seconds. Thoughts of it possessed me so I retreated to a favourite Catlins haunt only to stumble across an incredible session – not only for the waves, but for the quality of the characters chasing the peaks. One blonde-haired 20-year-old Aussie from Byron Bay...

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New Zealand Surf Journal is the home of New Zealand surfing. We exist to celebrate the inspiring people, places and culture of surfing in New Zealand. We support New Zealand's best surf photographers, writers and thinkers who tell the story of wave riding in New Zealand ... as it happens. Occasionally raw, mostly inspirational, but always at the heart of it all.